"The Zeekr RT robotaxi will now be named Ojai (pronounced "oh-hi") - after the village in the Topatopa Mountains above Los Angeles that is known for its arts community and focus on wellness. Waymo's official explanation, per spokesperson Chris Bonelli, is that the company determined the U.S. public isn't familiar with the Zeekr brand. That branding may even carry through to the rider experience. Apparently, when customers eventually get into the Ojai, the robotaxi will greet them with an "Oh hi" and their name. Cute."
"Last year at CES, Waymo gave the robotaxi the now-retired name of Zeekr RT and showcased some of its hardware, including 13 cameras, four lidar, six radar, an array of external audio receivers, and the tiniest sensor wipers you've ever seen. That hardware suite is the same. But the paint color has been tweaked, according to the company. Waymo told TechCrunch the paint color, which had a blueish tint, is now more silver."
Waymo spent three years refining and testing a minivan-like vehicle built by Chinese automaker Zeekr and has renamed the Zeekr RT robotaxi to Ojai. The new name references the Ojai village and will prompt a rider greeting of "Oh hi" plus the rider's name. Waymo partnered with Geely-owned Zeekr in 2021 and showed a purpose-built robotaxi concept based on the SEA-M architecture. The Ojai underwent development and testing in Phoenix and San Francisco, retains a hardware suite of 13 cameras, four lidar, six radar and external audio receivers, and now features a more silver paint tone.
Read at TechCrunch
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]